Renewable Energy Organization of Iran (SUNA) is planning to capitalize on wind energy potentials across the country to turn it into a reliable resource of energy.
SUNA intends to buy 80 wind turbines in the current Iranian calendar year (began March 21), which are most likely to be installed in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iraj Harsini, head of engineering department at SUNA, was quoted by ISNA as saying Saturday.
Harsini said earlier in March that about $1 billion has been recently spent on exploiting wind energy in Sistan-Baluchestan Province. Sistan and Baluchestan, East and West Azerbaijan, Qazvin, Semnan, and Khorasan provinces enjoy the highest energy potentials in Iran.
Wind energy potential also exists in some specific regions, including Shahriar, Firouzkuh and Damavand counties in Tehran Province, Dizin County in Alborz Province, and Mahshahr in Khuzestan Province. Wind energy potentials in the northern and southern coasts of Iran are marginal. Only in some coastal regions along the Gulf of Oman wind blows steadily.
Utilizing wind energy will bring about energy security and reduce dependence on fossil fuels as it does away with electricity generation via power plants running on natural gas and other fossil fuels, Harsini said.
More than 200 wind turbines are currently installed across the country. Manjil region, in Gilan Province, has taken precedence over other regions by producing more than 300 million kilowatt hours of electricity last year. There are 70 wind turbines operating behind Manjil Dam, 51 turbines in Manjil City, and 27 turbines in the Manil highlands.
Iran plans to reach an ambitious target of 10 percent renewables share in its energy mix by 2021, up from just 0.5 percent now. It needs to generate 5,000 MW from renewables by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2011-2016).
